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Viking streak ends at Sac State

The bubble burst on Portland State’s softball pitching staff last weekend. The crew gave up 56 hits in losing three of four games at rival Sacramento State.
The Vikings (22-20) had swept four games from San Diego to open Pacific Coast Softball Conference play. That extended the Viks’ hot streak to 12 wins in 13 games.
But Sac State rallied twice Sunday, pounding out 37 hits to beat PSU 12-3 and 13-7. The losses left the Viks at 5-3 in PCSC play, one game behind Sacramento State.
The good news: PSU’s next 10 games will be at Erv Lind Stadium, where the Vikings are 10-0 this season. First up is a doubleheader against Oregon at 3 p.m. Wednesday. Then Portland State plays conference foe Saint Mary’s in noon doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday.
“We lost to Sac all four games in 2006 and still came back to win the league,” Viking pitcher-slugger Mandy Hill says. “It still can be done. We can totally come back from this. We’ll grow from this and get this conference.”
Hill and Nichole Latham had been hot, but they and Meghan Gendron got rocked at Sac State. Hill gave up 14 hits in the 13-7 loss. Latham had won six consecutive games before losing Sunday’s 12-3 game.
“They were just swinging at everything we threw at them — very aggressive,” Hill says.
PSU’s lone win, 11-4, came after Hill broke a 4-4 tie with an eighth-inning grand slam Saturday.
Hill continues to pace the Vikings; she’s now the all-time PSU leader in wins (61), homers (31) and RBIs (134).
The Vikings had surged with some solid play. A key has been Brandi Scoggins’ adjustment to left field. That has allowed coach Amy Hayes to put former junior college star Kristin Wilson, a defensive stalwart, at catcher.
PSU’s top hitters are first baseman Jana Rae Slayton (.355), shortstop Arielle Wiser (.350), Scoggins (.345), center fielder Jackie Heide (.322), Hill (.317) and Jamee Rauch (.303).
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